Here are two antique paintings of ship battles. The frames have been added to and painted over the years but the subject matter is great. Sails with cannon ball holes !Comments welcome, I have no idea if this is just fantasy or represents specific ships.

Not my area at all, but is it not the case the the French fired at the rigging of enemy ships to immobilise them, while the Royal Navy pounded the hulls of enemy ships to neutralise their fighting power by destroyinng guns and killing their crews?

They are rather smashing nautical scenes!Both seem to feature British ships. The first is fighting a Dutchman, with a second fight in the background, two gundecks probably means they are 74's or larger frigates. The second is a classic frigate fight, opposing a Spaniard. Putting holes through the canvass of a ship is both an artistic convention and a reality, the French did indeed favour immobilising a ship by essentially rendering her a hulk, and the RN, since the days of the Armada were fonder of rendering the ship untenable by knocking out her guns and crew as JF says.As to whether they are real events I have no idea.